PARIS – The theatre director responsible for the most ambitious Olympics opening ceremony in history in Paris this July was so overwhelmed by the task when first asked to do it, that he rang his mother in tears.

Thomas Jolly, one of France’s most talented young directors, experienced a “feeling of vertigo” when approached to be artistic director for the open-air parade on the river Seine in front of a TV audience of billions.

His task – design a ceremony that will see thousands of athletes sail 6km down the river in a flotilla, the first time a Summer Olympics has begun outside the main stadium.

The modest 41-year-old prodigy needs not only to develop a spectacular concept, but has also been dealing with a range of security, budget, architectural and even wildlife constraints.

“There’s the issue of the Seine which is not the same depth in one place as another,” he said. “The bridges don’t have the same strength, nor do the banks of the river.

“The wind doesn’t blow in the same way depending on where you are. There are places where fish spawn too, because we are trying not to disturb the natural environment.”

Once the vertigo subsided, he set about assembling a team of creatives to develop plans which were submitted for review in July 2023 to a range of stakeholders from the police to the Olympic organising committee.

“All of these reviews were done to see if we could turn our dream into reality,” he said. “They all agreed pretty unanimously on around 90 per cent, so I have around 10 per cent left of the project that I need to re-adapt.”

There is another major constraint that would keep most theatre directors awake at night, even for a small production.

“What’s unique about this show is that you can’t rehearse it on location. Actually you can’t rehearse it even once in advance,” explained Jolly.

Parts of his show will be rehearsed individually inside giant hangars, and boat captains will practise at a sailing centre.

The idea of the open-air ceremony fits with the overall grandiose vision for the July 26-Aug 11 Paris Olympics, which organisers have promised will be “iconic” and “revolutionary”.

As expected, Jolly was tightlipped about what he is planning when the eyes of the world – and those of up to 600,000 live spectators – will be on his work.

But he offered some broad clues, suggesting he will celebrate the modern diversity of France, both musically and culturally. “The idea is not to project a fixed identity,” he said.

Jolly also revealed that his three-hour ceremony would intertwine the speech-making, parade and entertainment rather than making them separate segments, as is customary. AFP